Ever fancied making a 100mpg car? The Progressive Insurance X Prize competition could be for you; it’s putting up a £5 million bounty to help bring such a vehicle to reality.The goal is to design, build and bring to market 100MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that will have consumer appeal and meet market needs for price, safety, capability, size and performance.“We’re not talking about concept cars”, said X Prize Foundation CEO Peter Diamandis at the contest’s launch. “We’re talking about real cars that can be brought to market.”Organisers are accepting applications up until July this year; those that qualify will race their eco-friendly vehicles in timed cross-country events, starting in New York in September 2009. The series of trials will combine speed, distance and urban driving, as well as overall performance.“The Progressive Automotive X Prize is an excellent example of how the private sector can spur solutions to our most complex challenges", said New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.The most notable entrant is Tesla; its electric sports car promises a 245-mile range and cracks 0-60mph in four seconds. The firm could probably put the £5m to good use; it began production of its Roadster last week.
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